On Thursday afternoon, when temperatures in Vancouver were on track to reach 101 degrees, four people sweated silently in their cars with the doors propped open.
They live in their cars, parked near the railroad tracks downtown. None of them had working air conditioning. All of them say they’re on a waiting list for housing vouchers. Two of them feared they wouldn’t survive the night.
Markie Hall, a former hairdresser, and her husband have slept in their blue Prius for the past year, waiting for the chance at a voucher, Hall said.
Hall said their small dog died from 100-degree heat in July. She fears for her husband of 20 years, who has leukemia, in the hot car.
“I don’t want him to die outside,” she said.
Becky Hoofnagle said she cares for Hall and her husband in the camp because they have medical issues.
“They shouldn’t be out here. They deserve so much better. The last parts of their lives shouldn’t be through a windshield but a window of a kitchen nook,” Hoofnagle said.
One of the hardest parts about living in a car during the heat is being pressed up against all your possessions, car campers said.
A mother living in the camp whose daughter stays with a friend said she dreams of having a backyard again. She packed her old life into a small sedan after being evicted six months ago.
Homeless camps, although often terrifying at night, are the only place where police won’t tow their cars, the car campers said.
The city of Vancouver does have a place where people can legally live in their vehicles called Safe Park. But it’s almost consistently at full capacity, said Charles Hanset, founder of Thrive2Survive, the nonprofit operating the lot in east Vancouver.
“We probably have about seven to 10 vulnerable families just pulling up asking for a spot. It’s just so sad we have to turn people away. And if they’re from outside city limits, they don’t qualify. It would be nice to be able to have one that’s county-regulated,” Hanset said.
The city of Vancouver does have plans for a second Safe Park, which would accommodate 50 more cars, but officials are struggling to find a spot for it. The Vancouver Homeless Assistance and Resources Team estimates about 500 to 600 people live unsheltered in Vancouver.
Hanset, who has experienced homelessness, knows what it’s like to sleep in his car during extreme heat.
“Sometimes a car can be hotter than a tent,” he said. “It’s a big concern of ours when it’s hot like this. What’s great about the Safe Park is … they can walk away from their vehicle and know their stuff is not going to be robbed or stolen.”
Last year, The Columbian interviewed homeless people about why they weren’t using the available cooling shelters during the heat. Many said they were afraid of losing their possessions or spending gas.
Although Thrive2Survive staff members provide transportation to cooling shelters, they’re also offering people cold water, Popsicles, misting tents and small fans that blow cool mist. The Safe Park’s bathrooms and showers have air conditioning, a luxury the people living in the camp near the railroad tracks said they yearned for.
